Hi everyone,
I am a senior student of Econ. from a non-target but still strong university in Europe. I was considering a master in Finance aimed at breaking into ER/AM after that. I´ll be graduating with a 2:1 (UK grading system), 1 job in my sophomore year (non finance related) and 1 internship at a hedge fund. Haven´t taken the GMAT yet but aiming to get 700+
I want to apply to HEC, ESSEC, Bocconi, SSE and probably ESADE. What any other school should I consider?
However, I do not know if I should also applied to LBS Master in Financial Analysis because of the brand, do you guys think that LBS Ms in Financial Analysis is worth it?
I think there are a few additional schools you could consider that usually place well with banks (or HFs) in ER/AM. However, it also depends on the languages you speak and where you see yourself living going forward upon graduating (e.g., London, Frankfurt, Paris ...).
I would probably consider the following WE schools on top of the ones you mentioned as they usually have strong ties to banks (however, depending on whether you speak the local language recruiting can be tricky and you might only want to focus on UK schools):
UK: LSE, Oxford, Cambridge (I would say they are the top choice for London - LSE gives you probably the best entry ticket into the the industry)
Netherlands: RSM
Denmark: Copenhagen Business School
Germany: WHU, Mannheim, EBS
Austria: WU Vienna
Switzerland: St Gallen
Spain: IE
For many of these schools there is also the option to do a CEMS master, which gives you an additional master in management which you can complete in parallel to a finance master (the CEMS master usually helps a lot in securing interviews with banks despite being management focused) - the same can be said for other dual master degrees.
For a masters degree I would rather aim for LSE than LBS given LBS is more famous for their MBA program while MS are rather what LSE is known for (beyond their undergrad program).
Finally, all the schools you mentioned have a great reputation and I doubt you can wrong with any of them (though HEC would be my favourite of the ones you mentioned and LSE my top choice in your case overall)
Thanks for your reply, very insightful. Just a thing, the reason why I did not choose LSE is because they do not offer MiF pre experience, they require at least 6-8 years experience within the sector. What master would your recommend in LSE? Apart from that I will consider the rest of the UK schools, thanks for that again.
Regarding St. Gallen I´ve been told that it is no worth it if I do not speak german cuz the placement is mainly in Sw/Ger. Also, IE was my first option in Spain until someone told me that IE is overpriced and that the placement is not that great, that I should consider ESADE instead. What are your thoughts on this?
Anyway, I want to break into London after doing the master and would prefer to live outside Spain (I´m Spanish) so it is unlikely that I will accept an offer in ESADE if I get into another program.
I had a friend who completed the MSc Finance & Private Equity (the PE focus was chosen later on, he could've stayed on pure finance) last year, straight out of his undergrad degree. So I'm not sure where you have the 6-8 years experience requirement from?
I would add Frankfurt school of management in Germany lad
I think LSE offers at least two Finance MSc programs that do not require any significant work experience (one is Finance and the other Finance and PE). Both should place well in BBs in London. For LBS, I agree that their finance master requires significant work experience. So the LBS Master in Financial Analysis would seem the best option here. I would consider all mentioned UK schools as they will position you best for any London opportunity.
St Gallen mainly places graduates in Switzerland and Germany - however, this is also partially attributable to the fact that most graduates do speak a local language and (to the best of my knowledge) prefer to stay in this area (pay is around 20-40% higher post tax in Switzerland compared to London as far as I know). Nevertheless, I met many St Gallen graduates at BBs in London during the past 3 years - if you want it, you can definitely do it (although I would still recommend a UK school as less networking/recruiting effort will be required and most recruiting will be on campus).
In my opinion, IE is stronger than ESADE in management but ESADE is better in finance. However, you can also break into London BBs with IE on your CV - though the journey might be a bit tougher. Given you are actually from Spain I would consider choosing a school abroad to strenghten your international experience/exposure - this might be a plus when applying to London eventually.
In short, I would try and get into a top UK school (one of the four mentioned). If that doesnt work out, however, all other schools mentioned can take you to London BBs too - though a bit more effort might be required on your part (higher GPA, more networking, more leadership opportunities, more travelling, etc.).
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Mmm all you say makes sense, thanks. I will consider the 4 UK schools, though LSE MiF will be hard to get in so I'd consider the one with PE, my fear is that doing this master might tell recruiters that I got into that one because I wasn't able to make it to the MiF. Also, I don't really know what I'd do if I get in HEC and say Oxford, because as you say, breaking into London from a non UK uni will require a little bit more of extra work, however the HEC's prestige is way better than said's for the MiF.
I will post again if I (hopefully) get into that kind of trouble hahaha. I'll focus on the GMAT for now.
A quick comment: If you're taking the GMAT I assume you're not applying to Cambridge, or which program have you looked at?
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